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Vahanga is a small uninhabited atoll part of the Acteon Group in the Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia and belongs to the municipality of the Gambier Islands.

Vahanga

NASA picture of Vahanga Atoll
Vahanga
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	21°19′S 136°39′W
Archipelago	Tuamotus
Area	12.6 km2 (4.9 sq mi)  (lagoon) 3.8 km2 (1.5 sq mi) (above water)
Width	3.6 km (2.24 mi)
Administration
France
Overseas collectivity	French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision	Tuamotus
Commune	Gambier Islands
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited[1] (2012)

Geography

Vahanga is located 9 km west of Tenarunga and 1362 km southeast of Tahiti . It is a circular atoll with a diameter of 3.6 km and an area of 3.8 km² (12.6 km² lagoon inclusive). It is a low atoll with a landing place on the northwest side of the island near a white house, but there is no access to the lagoon.

History

The first recorded sighting of this atoll was made during the Spanish expedition of the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 5 February 1606 under the name Las Cuatro Coronadas (the "four crowned" (by coconut palms)),[2][3] however these observations were not fully documented. As such, the first unambiguous approach to the island was made in 1833 by navigator Thomas Ebrill on his merchant vessel Amphitrite and again in 1837 by Lord Edward Russell, commander of the H.M.S Actaeon, the name given to the group.[4] It was previously owned by a man named Captain Nicholas but was redeemed in 1934.[5]

Flora and fauna

Vahanga hosts a flora composed of coconut trees, Portulaca lutea,[6] Cassytha filiformis,[7] and Amaranthaceae such as the species Achyranthes aspera var. velutina.[8]

In 2007, an ecological project conducted by the University of Auckland and the Ornithological Society of Polynesia aimed to eradicate Vahanga's Polynesian rats, which had colonized the atoll, to restore balance to the ecosystem supporting bird species such as the Polynesian ground-dove and the Tuamotu sandpiper.[9] A previous campaign in 2000 had failed in this goal.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Matureivavao
• Tenararo
• Tenarunga
• Acteon Group
• Desert island
• List of islands

References

• Sailing Directions, Pub 126, "Pacific Islands" NIMA 2002; page 12

External links

• Atoll list (in French)

На других языках

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[de] Vahanga

Vahanga ist ein Atoll des Tuamotu-Archipels in Französisch-Polynesien. Das Atoll gehört wie alle Atolle der Actéon-Gruppe administrativ zur Gemeinde Gambier.

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- [en] Vahanga

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[fr] Vahanga

Vahanga ou Vaega[2] est un atoll du Groupe Actéon dans l'archipel des Tuamotu, en Polynésie française. Il est rattaché administrativement aux Îles Gambier.

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[it] Vahanga

Vahanga è un atollo appartenente all'arcipelago delle Isole Tuamotu nella Polinesia francese.

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[ru] Ваханга

Ваханга (фр. Vahanga) — атолл в архипелаге Туамоту (Французская Полинезия) в группе островов Актеон. Расположен в 225 км от острова Мангарева.

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